Stack chair



April 25, 1967 w. D. PETERSEN 3,316,016

STACK CHAIR Filed May 18, 1966 V BY Jana Ja /M ATTORNEY United States Paten y 3,316,016 STACK CHAIR Warren D."Pe'tersen, Huntington Beach, Calif., assignor to Schlumberger Limited (Schlumberger N.V.), New York, N.Y., a corporation of the Netherlands Antilles Filed May 18, 1966, Ser. No. 551,116 2 Claims. (Cl. 297-239) This invention relates to furniture, and more particularly, to a new and improved stack chair.

Chairs used to furnish temporary seating in auditoriums and other public meeting places preferably are designed for compact storage when not in use. Some of these chairs, for example, are such that they may be folded to a compact condition. Other chairs, commonly referred to as stack chairs, are designed so that they may be stacked one on top of the other in an unfolded condition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved stack chair of the type illustrated in Patent No. 3,095,236.

In accordance with the present invention, a stacking chair is comprised of a rigid chair structure including a seat, a back rest, and front legs and functionally integral, rear members on said chair. The rear members have a space therebetween which is greater than the width of said seat directly in front of said members. Each of said rear members has leg portions and back rest portions with parts thereof extended coextensively with one another at the location of the seat to form a forward, upwardly facing abutment at the end of said leg portion part and a rearward, downwardly facing abutment at the end of said back rest portion part. The abutments have parallel surfaces which are inclined relative to the plane of the seat to form an acute angle and have a vertical spacing there between which is greater than the thickness of said seat. Spacer means can also be provided on each of said leg portions to project toward front legs and cooperating with the upwardly facing abutment to permit stacking of another chair and inclination of the seat of the stacked chair relative to the seat of lower chair.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the description to follow when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a number of stack chairs of the present invention in a stacked group;

FIG. 3 is a View taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a close-up view of the present invention taken from the portion of the chair circled in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stacking chair 10 of the present invention is a rigid structure comprised of a seat 12, a back rest 14, front legs 16 and functionally integral rear members 18 which provide rear legs and back rest support. The rear members 18 are attached to the outside of the chair seat supports 19 so that the spacing between the rear members 18 is greater than the width of the seat 12 at the point directly in front of the members. The general construction of the frame is from tubular goods which can be rectangular or square in configuration. In the embodiment shown the cross-section is rectangular.

As is normal with stacking chairs of the type disclosed in the present application, it is desired to stack a number of chairs one on top of another and yet maintain the stack chair embody- 3,3 16,016 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 center of gravity of the stack over the area bounded by the legs of the lowermost chair so that the stack is stable and will nottip under its own weight. FIG. 2 is a typical illustrationof stacked chairs in accordance with the present invention. In the present stack chair, there is provided an improved and simple functional construction wherein the rear members 18 have leg portions 18a and back rest portions 18b with parts 20a, 20b thereof extended coextensively with respect to one another at the location of the seat 12. The parts are integrally connected as by welding and are polished to provide a continuous smooth outer surface. The leg portion 18a is disposed forwardly of the back rest portion 18b so that the end part 20a forms a forward, upwardly facing abutment means 21. Similarly, the back rest part 20b forms a rearward, downwardly facing abutment means 22. The spacing between the abutment means 21, 22 is made greater than the width of the seat 12 so that crushing of the seat when chairs are stacked is avoided.

The leg and back rest portions 18a, 18b are hollow and the abutment means is provided by an insert 23 attached to the open hollow end of a respective portion. The insert 23 may be made of any plastic or suitable material formed to conform to the outer circumference of the portion and a projecting tab 24 is provided for attachment within a portion. The outwardly facing stacking surface of an insert 23 is stepped to provide a depression 25 which is complementary to a raised part 26 of an insert on an adjacent chair. As illustrated, the stacking surfaces of an insert are parallel to one another and parallel to surfaces on adjacent abutments. Hence, the inserts are mating and provide a firm interlock between adjacent chairs when the stacking is accomplished.

While not necessary, spacers 27 can be provided on the rear members at a location below an upwardly facing abutment to provide an angulation to the seat of the chair stacked immediately above and tend to maintain the center of gravity of the stacked chairs within the area of the lowermost chair.

As shown in the drawings, the leg and back rest portions 18a, 18b are angularly disposed relative to one another to complement the stacking function of the chairs as well as provide seating comfort.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of'this invention.

I claim:

1. A stacking chair comprising a rigid chair structure including a seat, a back rest, front legs and functionally integral, rear members on said chair, said rear members having a spacing therebetween which is greater than the width of said seat directly in front of said members, each of said rear members having leg portions and back rest portions with parts thereof extended coextensively with one another at the location of the seat to form a forward, upwardly facing abutment at the end of said leg portion part and a rearward, downwardly facing abutment at the end of said back rest portion part, said abutments being comprised of plastic inserts having stepped locking surfaces arranged along an inclined plane relative to the plane of the seat to form an acute angle, said abutments having a vertical spacing therebetween which is greater than the thickness of said seat.

2. A stacking chair comprising a rigid chair structure including a seat, a back rest, front legs and functionally integral rear members forming rear legs and a support for said back rest, said rear members having a spacing therebetween which is greater than the width of said seat directly in front of said members, the improvement comprising a forward, upwardly facing offset surface on said support for said backrest and a rearward, downwardly facing offset surface on said rear legs with a vertical spacing therebet'ween greater than the thickness of the seat,

said surfaces being stepped to provide a depression inclined toward said seat and complementarily arranged for locking interengagement. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Examiner. 

1. A STACKING CHAIR COMPRISING A RIGID CHAIR STRUCTURE INCLUDING A SEAT, A BACK REST, FRONT LEGS AND FUNCTIONALLY INTEGRAL, REAR MEMBERS ON SAID CHAIR, SAID REAR MEMBERS HAVING A SPACING THEREBETWEEN WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID SEAT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF SAID MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID REAR MEMBERS HAVING LEG PORTIONS AND BACK REST PORTIONS WITH PARTS THEREOF EXTENDED COEXTENSIVELY WITH ONE ANOTHER AT THE LOCATION OF THE SEAT TO FORM A FORWARD, UPWARDLY FACING ABUTMENT AT THE END OF SAID LEG PORTION PART AND A REARWARD, DOWNWARDLY FACING ABUTMENT AT THE END OF SAID BACK REST PORTION PART, SAID ABUTMENTS BEING COMPRISED OF PLASTIC INSERTS HAVING STEPPED LOCKING SURFACES ARRANGED ALONG AN INCLINED PLANE RELATIVE TO THE PLANE OF THE SEAT TO FORM AN ACUTE ANGLE, SAID ABUTMENTS HAVING A VERTICAL SPACING THEREBETWEEN WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF SAID SEAT. 